Nestled up against the venerable Saint-Eutrope, the Lester’s bar à vin (a paneled bar, Formica tables, bottles lining the bar) has become the #1 Bacchic hangout in Clermont-Ferrand. At night, people rush over to shoot the breeze, a glass of natural nectar in hand, while snacking on something straight out of Harry’s kitchen: a rabbit and wild cherry terrine (€9); €10 platters of homemade and Italian charcuterie (guanciale, finocchiona..) or cheese (goat’s cheese pavé, tomme cheeses, Stilton blue cheese…); crayfish ravioli in a shellfish jus (€9); incredible fried cuttlefish and aioli (€10); absolutely delicious iced vacherin with strawberries and blueberries (€7), etc. Served by the glass or the bottle, taken to go or popped open in house (€10 corkage fee), there’s mountains of choice: Utopiste, an Alsace produced by Julien Albertus for Kumpf et Meyer (€4 a glass); La Luna, a VDP Côte-Vermeille from Bruno Duchêne (€4.20); Erèbe, a Touraine from Paul Gillet (€26 a bottle); Les Ganivets, a Beaujolais from Philippe Jambon (€48)… À la carte €24-30. // P.L.

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